Jill MacLean

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  “Deeply immersive, The Arrows of Fealty pierces the heart. The novel's world, at once strange and familiar—yet ultimately different—coaxes us into what the best historical fiction can do: form deep empathetic connections at once created and strengthened by the very strangeness. Paradoxical? Not in the hands of Jill MacLean. A treat for history fans, The Arrows of Fealty also welcomes every reader with universal themes of longing and love. Quiet and often subtle, written with great care, The Arrows of Fealty shines with the brilliance of fire at night.” 

– Michelle Butler Hallett, author of Constant Nobody, winner of the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award

“In this stunning sequel to her equally powerful novel The Arrows of Mercy, Jill MacLean asks us to consider questions about where we pledge our loyalties and why, and whether the efforts of one person can ever make a difference in the fight against injustice and tyranny—issues as pressing in our own time as they were in fourteenth-century England. Her vivid portrait of Haukyn and his experiences of the horrors and resounding effects of war is deeply affecting and thoroughly convincing.” 

– Sarah Emsley, author of The Austens

“Most historical fiction either parachutes a character with modern attitudes and beliefs into a historical context, or uses broad stereotypes and clichés that have little depth or subtlety. The Arrows of Fealty threads this needle beautifully: MacLean’s characters are complex, diverse, and fully human, richly medieval in beliefs and attitudes yet able to think against their context and social norms. The English Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 is brought to life in all its intricacy and complexity. Meticulously researched and sumptuously detailed, The Arrows of Fealty nonetheless demonstrates that the fight against tyranny and the power of individuals working together is universal.” 

–Kathy Cawsey, author and professor of Middle English literature, Dalhousie University

“The best historical fiction manages a double feat: It depicts a world distinctly different from our own, so that the reader truly feels like a time-traveller, while at the same time creating characters who belong in that world yet are relatable to readers today. By these standards, The Arrows of Fealty is great historical fiction. Haukyn's world of soil and serfdom, battles and brutality, feels like a foreign country, yet his desire for freedom feels as immediate as today's headlines. This is a beautifully written visit to medieval England that will linger with me for a long time.”

– Trudy Morgan-Cole, award-winning author of The Cupids Trilogy

“A beautifully crafted novel that immerses the reader in the lives of ordinary English people during the perilous fourteenth century, and, particularly, in the life of Haukyn, a serf and gifted archer. It seems appropriate that the Italian poet Dante Alighieri wrote his Divine Comedy during that same period. MacLean, like Dante’s trusted guide, Virgil, leads us, with compassion and sure-footedness, through the horror of an Inferno-like war in France, to a Purgatory of servitude and village strife in Southern England. Destination Paradiso is not reached in this tale, but glimpses of Heaven appear throughout its pages: an archer’s loyalty toward his trusted steed and his comrades; a serf’s devotion to the unfeeling land that both sustains and enslaves him; the hard-wrung love between a demoralized man and two very different women; and the enduring love between a rebellious son and a scarred father. The Arrows of Fealty is a testament to the hearts of our forebears who refused to tolerate injustice, and an inspiration as to how we may live our best lives, honouring each other and the earth that nurtures us.” 

– Julie Strong, author of The Tudor Prophecy